(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to helmet face protectors and more particularly to attachments for releasably securing a transparent shield to a wire grid face protector, and the wire grid face protector to a helmet.
(b) Description of Prior Art
Protective helmets are used in sports such as hockey to protect the wearers from head injuries caused by impacts.
Face protectors attachable to hockey helmets are known. Such face protectors generally consist of a wire grid which substantially covers the face of the wearer. The grid defines a plurality of apertures sufficiently small to prevent passage of hockey sticks and pucks. A large, elongated sight opening is found in the grid and extends in front of the wearer's eyes not to obstruct the wearer's field of vision. A curved, resilient transparent shield of molded high impact resistant plastic material is generally attached to the grid to cover the sight opening and protect the wearer's eyes without hindering the wearer's field of vision.
Different fastening means have been used to secure wire grids to helmets and to fasten shields to wire grids. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,564 issued to Wood on Jun. 28, 1977 describes a protective face mask including a resilient transparent shield and a wire grid. The shield is provided with tabs at opposed ends thereof bearing outwardly extending projections, to secure to the wire grid at each end of the elongated sight opening of the grid. The shield is flexed to allow insertion of the tabs into grid receptacles to engage the projections thereon. A mounting plate having bolt holes is also secured to the wire grid by fasteners.
A disadvantage of such an attachment is that the shield can be accidentally dislodged upon impact on a side of the helmet. Another disadvantage is that the wire grid can not be quickly and easily removed from the helmet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,677 issued to Clement on May 13, 1986 describes an attachment system for attaching a face mask having a wire grid to a helmet using a hinge and a snap-fit connection. The hinge has two resilient halves integrally hinged together and having a cavity for receiving a wire of the grid. The hinge is retained in a slot in the forehead region of the helmet by the resilient action of the clip halves. The snap-fit connection consists of two vertical slots integrally formed in either side of the helmet and open at the bottom for receiving tabs vertically extending from either side of the face mask. Each tab has two side portions between which is integrally formed a resilient, angulated, outwardly extending tongue connected to the side portions at the upper corners thereof. The tab is retained in the slot by the outward position of the tongue, and is released therefrom by inwardly pressing on the tongue and by pushing the tab downwardly. However, the face mask does not provide a transparent shield which is detachable from the wire grid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,100 issued to Desy et al. on Aug. 15, 1989 describes a face shield detachably connected to a visor. The visor defines a recess in the lower edge thereof to receive the upper edge of the face shield, and has inwardly extending star-shaped detents integrally molded at either side thereof and a wedge-shaped detent integrally molded at the front thereof to correspond with through-holes in the face shield, to receive and engage the detents.
It would therefore be highly desirable to provide an attachment for connecting a transparent shield to a wire grid that would be resistant to dislodgment, that would be removably attachable to the transparent shield and to the wire grid face protector and that would also render the transparent shield quickly releasable and attachable to and from the wire grid face protector.
It would also be highly desirable to provide an attachment for connecting a wire grid to a helmet that would allow the wire grid to be quickly swung away from the face of the wearer, and which could also be easily and quickly secured and removed from the helmet.